Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
National

Permanent residents can apply to join Armed Forces

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Dec, 2022 03:48 PM
  • Permanent residents can apply to join Armed Forces

OTTAWA - Permanent residents can now apply to join the Canadian Armed Forces, regardless of whether they have been trained by a foreign military.

It's the latest effort by Canada's military to boost recruitment numbers, which are lagging well behind the target of adding 5,900 new members by March.

Officials have blamed a series of factors including the COVID-19 pandemic and reputational issues stemming from a number of high-profile sexual misconduct cases for the current shortfall of nearly 8,000 soldiers, sailors and aviators.

Until now, permanent residents in Canada could sign up only if they were skilled professionals who were trained by foreign militaries, but the federal government is now broadening the pool of applicants.

The Department of National Defence says joining the military can help permanent residents gain citizenship, in part because their applications are given priority by immigration officials.

On October, chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre ordered an immediate halt to all non-essential activities in favour of boosting military recruitment and retention.

The Armed Forces has also been pushing for greater diversity in its ranks, with targeted recruiting of under-represented groups and efforts to create a more inclusive workplace by doing things like easing dress rules.

MORE National ARTICLES

Teen stabbed multiple times in fight over vape pen

Teen stabbed multiple times in fight over vape pen
Several witnesses reported seeing two people fighting near a bus stop at Dunbar and West 41st Avenue around 8:30 p.m. When VPD officers responded, they located a 17-year-old suffering from a number of life-threatening wounds. The victim was bleeding profusely, and a VPD officer applied pressure to the wounds to stem the bleeding.

Teen stabbed multiple times in fight over vape pen

Two officers dead after shooting in Innisfil

Two officers dead after shooting in Innisfil
The South Simcoe Police Service said police responded to a disturbance call in Innisfil, Ont., just before 8 p.m. Tuesday when the shooting took place. Ontario's police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, said the two police officers who died were involved in a shooting with a 23-year-old man inside the home.

Two officers dead after shooting in Innisfil

Housing strategies abound in Vancouver mayor race

Housing strategies abound in Vancouver mayor race
Statistics Canada data published last month confirmed that B.C. leads the country as the province with the highest rate of unaffordable homes, due largely to the number of people paying high rents to live in downtown Vancouver. The city's home price-income unaffordability is also routinely ranked among the worst in the world.

Housing strategies abound in Vancouver mayor race

Stink bug invasion: Pests thrive in B.C. heat

Stink bug invasion: Pests thrive in B.C. heat
The brown marmorated stink bug, an invasive species in Canada, is thriving in the province this season thanks to summer-like weather extending into the fall months, experts say. Although population counts aren't readily available, the unwelcome intruder is earning notice across the Fraser Valley, Metro Vancouver and parts of the Okanagan, particularly Kelowna.

Stink bug invasion: Pests thrive in B.C. heat

Crown seeks 12 years for Amanda Todd harasser

Crown seeks 12 years for Amanda Todd harasser
The Crown is seeking a 12-year prison term for 44-year-old Aydin Coban, who was convicted in August of several offences related to an unrelenting online attack aimed at Port Coquitlam teen Amanda Todd. She endured three years of online stalking and abuse as Coban hid behind aliases and threatened and blackmailed her, before she took her own life in 2012 when she was 15.  

Crown seeks 12 years for Amanda Todd harasser

Vancouver Police investigating after Downtown Eastside shooting

Vancouver Police investigating after Downtown Eastside shooting
Just before 11:00 this morning, the VPD received 9-1-1 calls reporting a man standing at East Hastings and Columbia Street had just fired a gun, then ran out of the area. The witnesses also reported bear spray had been deployed around the same time.

Vancouver Police investigating after Downtown Eastside shooting